Chapter 18 - In the Mouth of the Lion

“She never trusted Lions.

Until one of them gave her a choice: die, or make a deal that might be worse.”

-Nest Of Serpests

by E.S.Mare

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Vilas... I thought.

Every door had been sealed shut.

I broke a window to get in.

Vilas was inside, wasn’t he?

I had left him there.

Whatever hope I’d had dissolved in an instant. I’d left him to burn.

And now, I was once again in the claws of a Lion.

I lowered my head, tears filling my eyes. In the Serpent tongue, I whispered:

“Or free...”

Coughing interrupted my words.

“Or dead, but together...”

Vilas was gone.

“Together...”

I turned my gaze to the stars shining through the dark sky. We had said we’d be together. We had promised.

I looked back into his golden eyes; I wasn’t going to resist.

“Kill me.”

His eyebrows furrowed. If he hadn’t constantly threatened to kill me, I might’ve believed he didn’t like the request.

“If that’s what you want...” he said slowly.

“Should I kill her too?” He nodded in one direction with his head. “I’m asking because you said ‘together.’”

When I threw my head back, I couldn’t comprehend what I saw at first. Vilas was leaning against the carriage, panting as though he had been running for hours. The darkness of the night made it hard to see clearly, but there wasn’t a single burn or soot stain on him. “If you’re going to die, you’ll die alone,” he said in a tired voice. “Don't involve me in this.”

A girl’s laughter pierced the night. It was Adara...

My eyes didn't even look for her. I only raised my head and looked back at Lian’s cheerful face.

In that moment, I struck him so hard that his massive body fell sideways. He cursed, but I had already risen to my feet and dashed toward Vilas.

He grinned—baring his teeth, unmistakably pleased that I had punched the Lion. His arms opened to welcome me, and his voice, for the first time in what felt like forever, sounded warm.

“I love you—”

I struck him too—just as hard.

One eye snapped open—the other still swollen shut. He stared at me, stunned.

“If he punches me too…” Arlo, of course.

When I turned, they were nowhere to be seen.

“What can you possibly do? He just punched Lian—what could you possibly do?” said Adara.

I heard the voice from above, and when I looked up, I found Arlo leaning out of the carriage window, glaring at me.

“You’re right,” he muttered to Adara. “My only hope is that Lian ends her quickly.”

I turned and looked at Lian. He was back on his feet, rage blazing in his eyes as they met mine. I didn’t care. Vilas was alive. That was all that mattered.

My gaze found Vilas again. He hadn’t yet recovered from the shock of my blow.

“You know what?” he muttered, scowling. “I was going to accept your kiss.”

“Liar,” I growled, and wrapped my arms around him, so tightly he winced from the pain of his wounds.

“Stop whining,” I said, swallowing hard. “I should kill you for scaring me like that.”

He groaned. “The Lion showed me mercy—and I get a punch in the face for it. Should’ve known better. I didn’t deserve that.”

“You deserved every moment of it,” I said, my voice hoarse.

He said, “Wait,” in a confused voice. He tried to pull away, but I wouldn’t let him. “Are you—are you crying?”

“No!” I snapped.

Eventually, he managed to push me back, but I turned my face away.

He reached out, grabbed my chin, and tried to make me meet his eyes. I resisted for a moment, then gave in.

“You’re crying,” he murmured, as if he couldn’t believe it.

I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again—just enough to keep the tears at bay. “Hold your tongue.”

“If your celebration’s over,” came a voice from behind me—it was Lian’s— “then we need to talk.”

I didn’t turn around.

Instead, I watched the fire rekindle in Vilas’s eyes.

Vengeance was in our nature—his, and mine. And when someone hurt one of us, the other’s hatred knew no bounds. I knew they’d saved him—but that meant nothing to Vilas. What had been done to us would never be forgotten. Not by him. Not by me.

There was meaning in the fact that they saved him—though it was they who brought him to the edge of death in the first place...

I’d just kill them with slightly less pain.

“Or can we not leave this place alive?” I said, with mockery.

“Maybe you’d like to throw us back into the fire and enjoy watching us crawl our way out,” Vilas growled, his rage more tangible than the smoke filling my lungs.

They’d watched, all of them. A Serpent cast into the flames, for their amusement. And I bet no sensation pleases a Lion more than that.

I turned my head again and looked at him. Of course, there was no remorse in those golden eyes. I hadn’t expected any. I’d have been shocked if there were.

Still, it didn’t stop the fury boiling in my chest.

The last member of the Ruthless Lion team stepped out from between the trees. Lian didn’t even glance at him.

The one Raiden dragged behind him—tied tightly—was a girl. The Serpent girl. One of the looters who had fled. The one who would’ve taken my place—or the companion they planned to torture alongside us…

But more than anything else—she was the one who set the house ablaze.

The one who nearly burned Vilas alive.

Not an ounce of pity stirred in me.

I turned to Lian. “That little conversation… What was it about? New tortures? You were looking for looters. I dealt with two. Looks like you caught the last one. But three Snakes to torment must be better than one, isn’t it?”

Lian took a few steps toward us, lowering himself to one knee so we were eye to eye.

A red mark bloomed across his chin. I had left that. It pleased me.

But he wasn’t amused anymore.

“Those looters,” he said, “murdered five families in this village. Did you see the eyes of a child—no older than five—turned to coal? That’s what they left behind. The Snakes. Your people.”

He glanced at Vilas, then returned his gaze to mine.

“Hate us, if you must. Let your disgust consume you. It changes nothing. But you didn’t see that child.”

Raiden looked down at the exhausted girl in his arms, and the fury in his eyes eclipsed mine.

“I did,” Lian said. “Not just one. Many.”

I looked at the girl again. No regret there either. She trembled with fear, but her eyes—there was no mercy in them.

I despised her as deeply as Lian did.

I was just as ready to end her life.

“We found you,” Lian continued, speaking directly to me. “Within our borders. In the forest of a Lion village where death walks freely. You had a royal sword secured to your waist. Then your friend appeared—with a bag on his arm.” His brow lifted. “And you claimed you had stolen the blade. Tell me, what would you think if you were me?”

“I’d think the same as you,” I admitted. “But you knew we weren’t looters when we left Vilas’s side. That’s why you gave me the antidote.”

“I suspected it,” he said. “But I wasn’t certain.”

“That’s why you used us as bait,” I said. He shook his head. “You became certain when you saw what I did.”

“We pulled your friend out while you were fighting the bald man,” Adara added. “But the girl had already set the fire. She fled the moment she saw us.”

I’d noticed Arlo and her watching us from the wagon, but I didn’t look their way. My eyes were fixed on Lian.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“But all of you still watched me go inside.”

Lian pressed his lips together. Arlo was the one to answer.

“We thought you were scared of the flames. We were… waiting. Hoping you’d come back.”

“But you went in,” Lian said. He lifted his brows. “We live or die together, don’t we?”

I hadn’t realized I’d spoken those words in the Lion’s tongue.

Vilas clenched his fists, but said nothing.

"You remember correctly," I said to Lian. "So, which promise will you make us this time? Judging by past experience, I'd say you're quite skilled at the second part."

“You decide, Rattle’s Song,” he said, a cold smile on his lips. “Both my paths end in freedom. But only one doesn’t lead through death. You just haven’t realized which yet.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

"You planned to pass through the Scorpions' lands and reach the Neutral Territories, didn't you?"

I frowned at his question.

"Of course, if you're telling the truth... But clearly, you don’t know much. The Scorpions are no longer independent—they're under the Lion Kingdom’s control now. Lion patrols walk their streets. They’ve never been fond of Snakes, but now... now it’s worse. If they see you, they’ll hand you over to the Lion guards—if the royal patrols don’t get to you first. And the chances of that are high."

I turned to Vilas, stunned. He looked just as stunned as I was.

“We never heard of this,” he said, frowning.

"You weren’t meant to," said Lian. " But you should have guessed. Did you truly think the Lions would sit still while the White and Black Serpent Kingdoms moved toward peace? At the very least, your rulers should have foreseen it."

"So... the Lions have taken the Scorpions’ lands?" I asked.

"I never said taken," he replied. “They still act like they’re in charge—at least when someone’s watching. But their allegiance now lies with the Lions."

"If it’s not an invasion, why would they agree to that?" Vilas asked. "They don’t even like you."

"They like no one but the Desert Tribes," Arlo said with a crooked smile. "But your kingdoms uniting scared them. They were terrified they'd be the first to fall. They doubted the Spiders would shield them. So, they sought a stronger ally. And allies like that give more than armies—they give you spine."

Even if the Serpents did join forces for war, would they strike the Scorpions first? I wasn’t sure. King Siles would never choose war without dire cause. But the Black Serpent King... No, it wasn’t him I needed to worry about. It was his son—Crown Prince Adrastis. I didn't know him well enough, but I’d stake my life on one truth: he longed for war. The first time I looked into his eyes, I saw hunger—pure, unrelenting hunger for power.

"Think carefully," said Lian. "Do you truly believe you can make it to the Neutral Lands now?"

I stayed silent. If he was telling the truth—and I was starting to believe he was—our chances were bleak. Most likely, we’d die on the way. The better outcome? Capture. And if we were taken alive, they could learn far too much. That would lead to something far worse than death. Perhaps not for me. But Vilas would be executed, and I... I was already haunted by a venomous marriage—one that bound me like a curse.

"Is this the part where you present your offer?" I asked, trying to hide the spark of curiosity in my voice.

"Simple," he replied with unnerving calm. "I help you, and you help me. In the end, I’ll make sure you reach the Neutral Lands safely."

As if that promise held any weight. As if he hadn’t already proven what his word was worth.

"And the other option?" Vilas asked—the very question that had formed in my own mind.

"We part ways now," Lian said. "You’re free to go... and take your chances alone."

That kind of freedom was just another path to death. He didn’t need to say it—I’d heard it all the same.

"So you say the Scorpions now serve you," I said, narrowing my eyes. "And you are a Lion soldier who knows everything about us. And we’re supposed to believe you won’t make things worse?"

He smiled, genuinely amused.

"Believe me, even if I did nothing, things would already be difficult enough for you. Whether you trust me or not is your choice, but we have more important matters than explaining two Serpents to the Scorpions or the Lion soldiers in their lands. If you choose the second option, we will disappear from your lives completely."

I bit my lip and cast a quick glance at Vilas. Lian could be lying. But deep down, I knew he wasn’t. Then I asked something only loosely connected to our discussion, but it would throw him off balance.

"So... you're not just a soldier. You're something more?"

His eyebrows lifted, and he glanced up at Adara and Arlo, who loomed above us. They both chuckled.

Lian lowered his gaze.

"Soldier? That’s your word, not mine."

That caught me off guard.

"Then what are you? You fight for the Lions, track down looters, torture Serpents for crossing your borders. If you’re not a soldier, why act like one?"

Raiden grunted.

"If we’re not going to kill them, then why waste our time, Lian? I hate to say it, but let them go. Let them walk to their deaths."

Lian turned his head. Raiden exhaled sharply through his nose but said nothing. Then Lian looked back at me, those golden eyes unwavering.

"Depending on your choice, you may learn who I am. Or you may never know."

"Before I choose, you need to make your first demand clear," I said. "I’m ready to help you if you help me. You’ve told me what you’ll do, but you haven’t said what we’re supposed to do."

He pressed his lips together.

"That's the game. You only learn the stakes once you’ve already made your move."

I used to gamble—back when losing didn’t cost lives.

There were days I slipped from the palace, drank more than I should, and ended up at the gaming tables. Vilas would always find me and pull me out. And save for those interruptions, I never lost.

I was a good player.

But this wasn’t a game.

This wasn’t just a gamble—it was surrender dressed as choice. I didn’t know what he wanted. I didn’t trust him. After all he’d done, how could I? He’d been cruel, calculated, and never once shown regret. Even now, he stood tall, unflinching.

Fearless.

That fearlessness—it chilled me more than any threat ever could.

"Asra," said Vilas.

I didn’t turn. My eyes were chained to Lian’s.

"Let’s leave. We’ll fend for ourselves. Better than handing our fates to them."

Could we really survive this? I used to think so. But now, I knew better. Reaching the Neutral Lands was little more than a dream.

"Let’s say we choose your offer," I said.

He raised a single brow, silent.

"Whatever you ask of us... if we find we can’t do it, will you still let us go?"

Of course not. I knew the answer the moment I asked. Foolish.

But he didn’t laugh.

"Some knowledge is death, Rattle’s Song. If you choose this path, I may have to share that kind of knowledge. And do you truly believe I’d let you walk away with it?"

He wouldn’t.

But what shook me more than his answer... was the phrase.

"Some truths are death in disguise."

Adrastis had said the same.

"Let’s go," Vilas urged.

"You said you’re no soldier," I continued, ignoring him. "And when this is done—how do you plan to get us to the Neutral Lands?"

"You’ll understand," Lian said quietly.

Arlo laughed.

"He’s the only one who can get you there. Believe me."

Believe him?

I nearly laughed out loud.

But he spoke with such conviction, I wasn’t sure if this was happening, or if the game had begun long before I noticed.

“This is absurd,” Vilas snapped in the tongue of the Serpents, his laughter edged with fury. “You can't trust them!”

I had led him here. From the very beginning, I had walked this path knowing full well I might lose him along the way. I had no family left. My mother, my father, my siblings—they were all gone. Only he remained. Vilas was all I had.

“I have two conditions,” I said.

And Vilas hissed beside me, enraged. “Stop it!”

“I’m listening,” said Lian with deliberate calm.

“First, you’ll return my sword. Second…” I paused. “Whatever you ask of me, I will do it. So long as I don’t set foot beyond the Serpent’s borders again, it doesn’t matter what you demand. And Vilas stays out of it. Even if I fail… you’ll take him to the Neutral Lands.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Vilas shouted.

Lian ignored him. “You’ve given me three conditions,” he said, frowning. “The sword, your promise to never cross back into Snake territory, and your companion’s noninvolvement.”

“What difference does it make?” I muttered, scowling. “I said two. Make it three, then.”

“You never know when such things will matter,” Lian murmured, casting a slow gaze toward Vilas—studying him, as though seeing him anew. For a few seconds that dragged like centuries, he pondered. He saw something in Vilas, something he weighed carefully—perhaps potential, or danger. Then he looked back to me. “Very well. I accept your terms.”

Vilas let out a cold, hollow laugh. “I don’t accept it. And we’re leaving. Now.” He tried to rise, but failed. He cursed aloud, then grabbed my arm, urging me to look at him. I didn’t resist.

“Let’s go,” he said firmly, switching again to our own tongue. “Think before you throw your life away! You don’t even know what they’ll ask of you.” His voice rose, laced with fury. “Look at what they’ve done to us, Asra! Do you truly believe they’ll just ask you to make soup? Use your head! We can survive without them.”

“Look at yourself!” I snapped. “You can barely stand upright!”

“It’s their doing!” he shouted—not blaming me, but pointing at the Lions. “And now you want to bargain with them?”

The Lions remained silent, unsurprisingly—they didn’t speak our language. I placed my hands on either side of Vilas’s face and leaned in.

“I want to live,” I whispered. “And I want you to live. Do you understand?”

His lips parted, but I didn’t let him speak. I knew exactly what he’d say—we’d survive on our own.

“You saved me countless times. Let me return the favor. Let me save us both. Let this be the path to our freedom—yours and mine.”

“You don’t understand what you’ve done,” he murmured.

“I don’t,” I admitted. “But I do know what I haven’t done—I haven’t doomed us to a certain death. We can’t keep stumbling through Scorpion lands like this. You know it.”

“We’ll find another way,” he said, but his voice faltered.

“Vilas,” I said, weariness creeping into my voice, “I’m too valuable to gamble my life on luck.”

His eye opened, surprised. “We’ve been walking this path based on luck from the start.”

“And look where it’s gotten us!”

“Yes, but—by the Sovereign of the Soil! Can’t you see this foolish bargain isn’t salvation? Even if you do everything they ask, there’s no guarantee they’ll take us to the Neutral Lands. No promise they’ll free us. Most likely, they won’t.”

He wasn’t wrong. Lian was far from someone I trusted. In truth, there was only one person on that list, and it was Vilas. But I had plans of my own—plans I would not voice. Not here. Not in front of the Lions. Not even in my own tongue.

“At least we might live a little longer,” I said with a faint smile.

“This is no game,” he snapped.

“Then kiss me.”

He didn’t even blink, just frowned deeply. “You’re an idiot,” he sighed. “No matter what I say, you’ll do whatever you want, won’t you?”

“I love you too,” I grinned.

Lian shook his head in disgust and finally spoke. “We've heard enough of your disgusting Snake tongue. Decide. Or leave our lands.”

I stepped back and turned away, ignoring Vilas’s glare. Disgust and fury had returned to Lian’s face. In the silence, a pact had already been written in blood on invisible parchment. I clenched my jaw. “Agreed,” I said in Lion tongue. “Now tell us how you’ll get us to the Neutral Lands.”

Lian rose slowly, brushing the dust from his clothes. Something thudded to the ground. I turned my head—so did he.

Raiden’s captive had collapsed, unconscious. Raiden frowned at the prisoner, then turned to Lian.

“She kept squirming. It was getting annoying,” he said. “Can we go back to the palace and start interrogating this filthy reptile?” He glanced at us with revulsion. “Assuming you’re done with these ones.”

My eyes narrowed. “You said you weren’t soldiers.”

Lian didn’t answer. Adara did. “He’s not. We are.”

“I’m a soldier of the Eagles,” Arlo added. “Don’t lump me in with them. You won’t like the outcome.”

My mind spun again. “You…” I said to Lian. “What are you, then? A spy?”

Spies were shadows, ghosts. Lian certainly fit the role. But a spy couldn’t guarantee safe passage. A soldier might. A spy moved alone. They gathered secrets and vanished. They had combat training, yes—but only enough to escape or die trying. Most of them did just that.

But Lian… Lian was something else entirely.

“I am,” he said with a sly smile, “sometimes a spy, sometimes a soldier. Sometimes neither. Sometimes both.”

He lowered his head, meeting my gaze with a strange delight, enjoying the chaos within me.

Then a roar shattered the night.

I jolted. The earth trembled beneath a series of pounding footsteps.

And I understood.

A lion—real, living, monstrous—burst from the dark, knocking over trees as it came. Vilas cursed before I could. My body froze. I had never seen one before. Vilas pulled me close, shielding me with his body as if he could somehow stop the beast.

The lion roared again, and I trembled.

Lian remained still, watching. Then, slowly, he turned toward the beast.

The lion halted beside him. Its claws dug into the soil as it crouched—then lowered himself, tamed like a beast bound by ancient oath. My eyes widened in disbelief. Lian stroked its mane with a joy I had never seen on his face. The lion purred.

With a single leap, Lian mounted the beast. I cursed again.

When he turned his eyes to me, the smile on his face had deepened.

“I am Esilian,” he declared, as the lion rose beneath him, towering once more.

There was a power in him now—something ancient, something fierce.

“Esilian Aslion, Crown Prince of the Lion Kingdom.”